Improvement in tobacco-drying houses



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UNITED STATES PATENT CDF-Fien. y

llR-ASTUSV. ELLSW'ORTH, lOF SOUTH "WINDSOR, CONNECTICUT.

`INIPFOVE/IEIIT IN TOBACCO-DRYINGHOUSES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 144,194, dated ovembrr4, 1.873; application tiled J une 28, 1873.

To all whom t may concern.:

Be it known that I, ERAs'rUs W. ELLs- WORTH, of South Windsor, State ofConnecticut, have invented an Improvement in Tobacco-Drying Houses, ofwhich the following is a specification:

The object of my invention is to induce a current of air, which passesin at the open doors" of a tobacco-drying house upon one side, to iiowup through the building in a vertical direction in one portion of thebuilding, and into the entire upper part, and thence down through theother portion of the building in a vertical direction, and pass outthrough the open doors upon that side. This movement of air I obtain byplacing a partition about midway through the entire length of thebuilding, making it about as high as the eaves; and, to better carry outthe object sought, I place another partition at right angles to thefirst, also about midway the building in the other direction, so thatwhen the wind is blowing in the proper direction the air may pass in andout through the doors in the ends of the building, and have the samemovement inside as above described. The doors I place at the bottom,only extending them up a short distance from the iioor or ground.

In the drawings, Figure lis a perspective view of a tobacco-drying housearranged according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of thepartition; and Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the same at line H.

A is the side boarding, which extends down to a point, g, three or fourfeet from the ground, below which the building is provided with anydesirable number of doors, h h, at both sides and both ends of thebuilding. Inside I arrange two partitions, one extending the entirelength of the building midway its width, and the other extending theentire width at right angles to the former, midway its length; and bothpartitions extend upward to about the samev height as the eaves. Thesepartitions may be made permanent, as shown in the transverse partition B5 but I prefer to make them as follows: Horizontal timbers a a, of anysuitable size, are placed at any desirable height and distance a])art-say, the

first being placed rive or six feet from the iioor, and the second thesame distance above the first and so on, the highest being about thesame height as the eaves; and these timbers (t are supported by, andsecured to, the upright timbers f f, which may be any desired distanceapart-say ten to fourteen feetor even more. To the lower side of thetimbers al e two slats, c c, are secured longitudinally and sufficientdistances apart to receive the thickness of a common board, fromthreefourths of an inch to an inch thick 5 anden the upper side of thetimbers a is secured the single slat, c', also extending longitudinallyand directly above one of the lower slats c. Or-

"dinary boards of suitable length and thickness are placed with theirupper ends between the two slats o o, and their lower ends against theslat e', and resting upon the timbers a, and these boards b, beingplaced close together, a partition is formed extending the whole lengthand width of the building, and of the same height as the eaves.

The air enters, through the open doors h at the lower part ofthebuilding, at one side, and,

passing in, is deiie-cted upward by the partition b, passing thoroughlythrough all the tobacco which may be hung in the building, even in theupper part above the eaves, and thence down the other side of thepartition, and out through the doors on that side.'

The air is thus made to pass through all the tobacco in the building ina vertical direction; and the natural formation of the stalks and leavesof the plant, and the manner of hanging it, being favorable, the airmore thoroughly diiifuses itself among the stalks and leaves than whenit is made to pass directly through the building from side to side.

After tobacco ina shed has been cured it can be taken down for strippingfrom the stalks only during very damp weather and after thoroughventilation of air saturated with moistiue. As sheds are ordinarilyconstructed it is difficult to obtain the requisite ventilation fordampening that portion of the tobacco which hangs under the roof abovethe eaves and it is often necessary to lower it very carefully to thetiers beneath for direct exposure to the Wind from the doors in thesides of the building. The introduction of the partitions, asv abovedescribed, causes all the air, whether dry or moist, which enters at theside doors to circulate thoroughly under the roof.

When not required in place, the boards b maybe taken down and placedinsuitable piles upon the Hoor, and may be used in covering stacks orpiles of tobacco, as occasion requires; and, inlianging up the tobaccoupon the highest tiers of poles, the boards b may be conveniently usedto Walk on by placing,` some of them upon the poles below.

That I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A tobacco-shed or drying-house which is divided into four compartmentsby the longitudinal and transverse partitions, as above described, andwhich is open or in one compartment above the partitions, to allow afree and uninterrupted circulation of air in the roof, as

set forth. ERASTUS W. ELLSWORTH.

Witnesses T. A. CURTIS, C. E. BUCKLAND.

